This grilled pineapple ice cream is easy to make and deliciously fresh and creamy. An immediate hit in our house, it's perfect to enjoy on a warm day.

grilled pineapple ice cream in glass with scoop to side

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Between our recent trip to Italy, where we had gelato pretty much every day, and the crazy warm weather we've been having now we are back, I've been in the mood for ice cream more and more recently.

Not so much popsicles (much as I enjoy mango paletas and strawberry coconut popsicles), but real ice cream and gelato-style.

grilled pineapple ice cream in glass with pineapple behind

I decided it was about time to play around with making some myself (I haven't, in fact, shared any, just sorbets like watermelon sorbet, persimmon sorbet and blueberry frozen yogurt).

After a couple attempts, I came up with this grilled pineapple version and it's such a great first ice cream to share. It has a lovely fresh pineapple flavor but is also smooth and creamy, plus it's easy too.

Why grilled pineapple?

You might wonder why I bothered to grill the pineapple. Well, grilling brings out the flavor and natural sweetness. It's great as a dessert straight off the grill (and I will share a simple recipe soon!), but also as a base for ice cream where the flavor can get a little lost otherwise.

You can skip the grilling, but if you're anything like me, you will likely have the grill on a lot anyway, so it's not such a big hassle to put on a bit of pineapple as well. I then froze them after they cooled, partly as it was as easy as putting in the fridge, but it also means (in my humble opinion at least):

you can then make this whenever you want;
it helps cool the mixture which I think helps it freeze more evenly;
I think (though not tested) it leads to a smoother ice cream than non-frozen chunks.

grilled pineapple ice cream in glass from overhead with scoop to side

How to make this pineapple ice cream

This ice cream takes slightly longer than some since the pineapple is grilled ahead of time, but after that it comes together very easily. You simply freeze the pineapple after it has cooked and cooled, then when it's frozen put everything in the blender. I then use my single serve Zoku Ice Cream Maker which works really well, but you could also just put the mixture in a container and freeze, stirring now and then, or use an ice cream maker.

I haven't included any egg yolks and made a custard, as some recipes do for richness, as I think it works fine without. It's also lower in sugar than many ice creams since pineapple has a lot of natural sweetness, especially when grilled. If you prefer a sweeter ice cream, you might want to add a bit more.

This grilled pineapple ice cream is delicately flavored, gently sweet and wonderfully creamy and refreshing. It disappeared in no time in our house (which was just as well as it was 90 degrees and we don't have air conditioning in most of the house, hence the melting ice cream in the photos!) I know we'll be having it again soon - give it a try and enjoy!

grilled pineapple ice cream in glass with piece of grilled pineapple to side and scoop in front

Looking for more frozen treats? Here are some favorites:

No churn roasted strawberry ice cream
Cherry strawberry frozen yogurt
Roasted banana ice cream
Avocado paletas (ice pops)
Plus get more dessert recipes in the archives.

And if you like pineapple, you might also like to try pineapple chow (Trinidadian spiced fruit) or my grilled pork and pineapple salad.

glass with grilled pineapple ice cream garnished with slice of pineapple

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5 from 8 votes